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male
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes: Just curious, as I see tons of family's that have sometimes 4 or more children, yet have an extremely small income. You'd think it'd be the opposite, because the low-income families have neither the time nor the money to properly care for these children. Im sure some of them are accidents, but after the first child you would think they learnt their lesson? They can't all be accidents?My view on children, is I did not want children untill I was POSITIVE I could financially support one, and give him everything he will ever need.Whats your view on this? I understand some parents want a child to love, but I just see so many families with sometimes 4 or 5 children struggling.
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (7 May 2016): It's been a constant in our history of human beings and it does make sense: Poorer, less educated members need to ensure their survival and more kids mean more help around the house/income and with younger siblings (babysitters) for household help and possibly governmental benefits. Most adult children feel a tremendous load dealing with the care of their elderly parents. The more kids, the more the lesser income advantaged parents have security by numbers-not securing their own or leaving much legacy other than than the same perspective on the familial cycle. "Don't put your eggs in one basket" is a common quote of the pluratity of lower incomes. "you can achieve anything you want" is more common platitude of the independent oriented parent who does not depend on children supplementing their old age.
A
female
reader, Anonymous 123  +, writes (4 May 2016):
 Lack of knowledge of contraception which means they just couldn't be bothered to take protection. Also, I think they're so jaded in their lives that sex is the only form of entertainment for them. I think another factor could be that they get married at an early age because most of them are not very educated. Early marriage means that many more fertile years.
I was once talking to this Muslim woman who was from a very low-income family. She had a large family and her daughters-in law and sister-in-law kept popping out kids every nine months. It was appalling to me because on the one hand, they had no money to make ends meet or even have 2 meals a day, yet here they were, with a tiny shack full of squealing children. When I asked her why she said its because they believe that "children are a gift of God" and they dont believe in contraception. They would rather go on having kids and live in squalor than practice safe sex/ have an abortion.
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A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (4 May 2016): The more different reasons you hear for an irrational behavior, the less likely any of them are the real reasons.
Poor people have too many children because it helped grow the species until very recently. It is hard-wired into us. Take away the current reasons and people will come up with other ones.
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A
female
reader, Dionee'  +, writes (3 May 2016):
 In poorer areas it's mostly due to a lack of education and affordability of contraception that are the main factors which means that children are had as an alternative to getting off your arse and finding a job. Sorry to put it so blunt. Other reasons include religion where abortion is not allowed, neither are morning after pills etc. Others also include (to be honest) negligence, ignorance, greed, illiteracy etc
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A
female
reader, CindyCares +, writes (3 May 2016):
 I guess there's a different answer for every different geographic location / culture.
Several Aunts quoted a social system where you get tangible rewards and benefits for every new kid you make. This , for instance, can't happen in Italy, where single mothers get basically a swift kick in their butt, and state-subsidized ( not private, which costs more ) day care is offered at a
" social " price of 350 euros monthly and up. This being how it goes, no wonder that girls learn very fast to either take their pill or maybe to keep their knees crossed, I don't know, anyway the bottom line is that the natality rate is 1.3.
In other countries it will be because of religion. The Catholic Church for instance is notoriously against abortion AND any contracception but the unreliable
" natural " methods, so in the places where they take it way more seriously than it's taken in Europe , like in South America, there are a lot of children regardless of the wealth or poverty of their parents.
Muslims too aren't big on contracception , although it is allowed by the Islamic religion for 7 specific reasons
( among which, curiously , there is " the wish of a wife to preserve her attractive appearance or her slimness for the love of her husband " ) it is frown upon , or not encouraged / made unavailable in various Muslim countries, because of political resaons on the line of "there's safety , or more strength , in numbers ".
Every place and culture has different reasons.
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A
female
reader, Ivyblue  +, writes (3 May 2016):
 Well here in Australia popping out kids,for some, is a profession. Why? Because our government enables it. Pop out a kid, get money. Pop out lots of kids, get lots of money. In addition there is all the extras that go with it. A few years ago you would get what started out as $2000/child skyrocketed to $5,000 known as the baby bonus. I know of stay at home parents get more than I earn for working full time, and I earn a good wage. Go figure...
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A
male
reader, Serpico  +, writes (3 May 2016):
For the first time in human history, we are de-evolving as a species. In the distant past, the least fit had the least children as they often died before reproduction or were not selected. Today, the least fit (as predicated by economic and social success) are having the most children.
Interesting to say the least.
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A
female
reader, Tisha-1 +, writes (3 May 2016):
 Lack of access to affordable health care, including birth control. The annual cost for birth control pills can be such a financial burden that women can’t pay for it AND feed children or buy bus tickets to get to the low income job they need so desperately.
Clinics providing abortion services are being closed, along with the clinics providing low cost birth control.
Some faiths ban birth control altogether. A believer wouldn’t be able to take birth control at all in this case, and would have to rely on rather iffy ’natural’ alternatives.
Then there’s basic lack of education about the body and how to prevent pregnancy. I remember a famous conservative radio host clearly indicating his complete and utter lack of knowledge about birth control, as he seemed to think you only took the pill when you had sex. It was a profound reminder that even someone who had enough education to get himself on the radio didn’t have the basic fundamental knowledge about birth control. And yet he wanted to comment on it. Amazing.
If you were caught in a cycle with no hope of rising above your financial status, wouldn’t you just live your life? Doing the best you could with the limited resources you had? Yes? And if you couldn’t afford birth control, or it wasn’t accessible, you couldn’t afford to go see the doctor, would you stop having sex altogether? What if sex was one of the few things in your life that brought you pleasure and release and a way to get out of the draining stress of your life?
Some people just have no way out of the cycle they are in and questions like yours, while natural, don’t do a blessed thing to change that cycle. It’s a haves vs. have-nots. Obviously you are “have,” enough to be able to afford birth control.
There are many countries and cultures in this world, which do you hail from?
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A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (2 May 2016): The middle & upper classes were making all the same complaints about the poor having too many children a hundred years ago too. The mothers were not getting govt paychecks for it.
Having too many children is something that poor populations always have done. It will go on with or without govt help.
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A
male
reader, Garbo +, writes (2 May 2016):
 In some parts of the US, like large city ghettos, news kids are viewed as assets because government gives them money for each new one. Some women have upwards of 10+ kids. These phenomena also go hand in hand with illiteracy, mental disorder, culture of poverty, drugs, crime that increases mortality rate... Variables like these are so intertwined that it is hard to discern which one is the most dominant or to which extent. Another variable is erosion of positive morals found in some religions, or deeper ethnic traditions... To paraphrase Tolstoy, every evil and ill is very unique but all good is very same and easy.
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A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (2 May 2016): Lower-income people tend to be less educated and therefore less likely to use birth control.
Some unmarried lower-income women who are shacking up with their baby daddies while receiving government assistance believe they stand to gain financially by popping out more kids because their benefits will increase.
Some enterprising lower-income women believe they stand to gain even more financially by popping out more kids because they can then get their kids diagnosed with some phantom disorder and receive Social Security benefits for their "disabled" children.
Lower-income people who grew up in a household receiving benefits and so some tend to have a sense of entitlement so they don't see having more children as an additional financial burden for whom they are directly responsible.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (2 May 2016): Financial benefits. If they split then the woman gets more child support for more kids. And I guess tax benefits too...But it's usually the woman who decides to have all those kids (lol) The men don't know until after she's pregnant. They probably think she's on BC, but she'll stop taking it without saying anything. At least that's how it works with the people I know.
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